China's Gallium Nitride (GaN) Supply and Demand in 2019
Latest update time：2019-12-29
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GaN belongs to the third generation of semiconductor materials (also known as wide bandgap semiconductor materials). GaN's bandgap width, electron saturation migration velocity, breakdown field strength and operating temperature are much greater than those of Si and GaAs, and it has inherent advantages as a power electronic device and a radio frequency device. At present, the third generation of semiconductor materials are mainly SiC and GaN. Compared with SiC, the main advantage of GaN materials is low cost and easy large-scale industrialization. Although the voltage resistance is lower than that of SiC devices, the advantage lies in the fast switching speed. At the same time, if GaN is combined with a SiC substrate, the device can be used for both high power and high frequency.
GaN, GaS and LDMOS performance comparison
Data source: Public information compilation
The development of semiconductor materials is mainly reflected in three aspects:
1) the development of substrates and epitaxial materials towards larger diameters; 2) the improvement of material quality and device performance; 3) the decline in costs and prices promotes industrial development. In terms of substrates, many Japanese companies have been selling 2~3 inch GaN substrates; in terms of epitaxial wafers, materials for 4~6 inch Si substrate GaN epitaxial wafers have been mass-produced.
In terms of power electronic devices, the current withstand voltage of GaN power electronic devices on Si substrates is 600V, and the laboratory withstand voltage has exceeded 2000V, meeting the requirements for mains application and showing great practical potential.
1. GaN Supply
The gallium nitride industry chain basically includes substrates, epitaxial wafers, and device manufacturing. Among them, the main suppliers of silicon-based substrates include German Siltronic, Japanese Sumco, Japanese Shin-Etsu and other companies, while Japan's NTT-AT, Belgium's EpiGaN and the UK's IQE are the main suppliers of silicon-based GaN epitaxial wafers. Some manufacturers extend the industry chain and produce epitaxial wafers and device manufacturing at the same time, such as Episil, Bridg, Fujitsu, etc. At present, mainstream gallium nitride manufacturers are still concentrated in European countries and Japan, and Chinese companies have not yet entered the first echelon of the supply side. The following is a brief introduction to several mainstream suppliers that mainly produce epitaxial wafers.
1、NTT-AT
NTT Advanced Technology Corporation was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Japan. The company currently produces high-quality GaN epitaxial wafers that can be used in high-power integrated circuits and high-frequency communications. The company's GaN epitaxial wafers are well-known for their high breakdown voltage, low leakage current and excellent 2DEG characteristics, and are therefore adopted by high-quality semiconductor manufacturers. The company achieved revenue of 56.195 billion yen and a net profit of 2.424 billion yen in fiscal 2018 (April 2018-March 2019).
2. EpiGaN
Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Hasselt, eastern Belgium, the company is a spin-off of IMEC, one of the world's largest microelectronics industry-university-research centers. The company can provide 4- and 6-inch GaN epitaxial wafers, which are widely used in 5G communications, high-efficiency power electronics, RF power, sensors and other fields. At present, the company has taken the lead in achieving industrial mass production of 8-inch silicon-based GaN epitaxial wafers, and its production process is at the advanced level in the industry.
3、DOUBLE
Founded in 1884, the company is currently developing differentiated semiconductor materials, conductive materials and magnetic materials for the needs of cutting-edge electronic devices. The company is currently engaged in the production of gallium nitride epitaxial wafers, and has achieved high voltage resistance and good flatness on gallium nitride epitaxial wafers by using patented buffer layers. The downstream applications are mainly inverters and AC/DC converters in power semiconductors and mobile base stations. IQE. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Cardiff, UK, the company is one of the world's leading companies in the design and manufacture of advanced semiconductor epitaxial products. The downstream markets are mainly in the fields of electronics, automobiles, aerospace, etc. The company achieved revenue of 156 million pounds in 2018.
2. Demand
As a third-generation semiconductor material, gallium nitride has a higher bandgap width and is the material system with the highest theoretical electro-optical and photoelectric conversion efficiency to date. Its downstream applications include microwave radio frequency devices (communication base stations, etc.), power electronic devices (power supplies, etc.), and optoelectronic devices (LED lighting, etc.).
At present, microwave RF devices using gallium nitride are mainly used in the military field, 4G/5G communication base stations, etc. Due to military security, foreign countries have imposed an embargo on high-performance gallium nitride devices to China. Therefore, developing an independent gallium nitride RF power amplifier industry will help break the foreign monopoly and achieve independent control.
Thanks to GaN's ability to handle higher frequencies and more energy-efficient power, compared to silicon components, GaN can deliver the same power with half the size and half the energy consumption, thereby improving power density and helping customers meet higher power requirements without increasing design space. Wide-range 5G network coverage requires operators to deploy equipment with higher power and operating frequency, and GaN's power density advantage can meet their needs.
According to survey data, by the end of December 2017, there were 3.28 million 4G macro base stations in China. The number of 5G macro base stations in China is expected to reach 5 million, 1.5 times the number of 4G base stations. The construction of macro base stations will drive the demand for GaN RF devices at the base station end. Considering the construction cycle of 5G base stations, it is expected that the scale of GaN RF devices at the base station end will reach a peak of 11.26 billion yuan by 2023.
Number and forecast of new 5G base stations in China from 2019 to 2024 (10,000 stations)
Data source: Public information compilation
Macro Base Station PA Market Size Forecast 2019-2024
Source: Public information compilation
Scale and forecast of GaN RF devices for base stations from 2019 to 2024
Data source: Public information compilation
Since the layout of 5G cellular networks has certain limits, in order to meet the network needs of hot spots, in addition to macro base stations, small base stations need to be deployed to form a microcellular network. Since small base stations cannot interfere with macro base stations, the frequency is higher than that of macro base stations, mainly Sub-6GHZ, and GaN RF devices are a good choice. According to the Toppu Industry Research Institute, citing the data calculated by CCID Think Tank, China's 5G network small base station demand is about twice that of macro base stations, that is, 10 million small base stations are needed. According to the calculation that each small base station requires 2 amplifiers and the construction progress of small base stations lags behind that of macro base stations by one year, the scale of GaN RF devices on the base station side will reach a peak by 2024, reaching 940 million yuan.
Forecast of China's 5G Small Base Station GaN RF Device Market Size from 2020 to 2025
Data source: Public information compilation
1. Electronic power devices
As a third-generation semiconductor material, GaN is widely used in power electronic devices. According to survey data, in 2018, the international market size of GaN power devices accounted for 55% of the power supply equipment field, followed by LiDAR, which accounted for 26%. Other downstream applications include envelope tracking, wireless power supply, etc. The electronic and power supply equipment we currently use, such as personal computer adapters, audio/video receivers and digital TVs, have the disadvantages of occupying large space, being unsightly, and causing power loss due to heat. GaN can reduce the size of the power supply while improving efficiency.
Not only that, the application of GaN in power equipment also includes fast charging and wireless charging of mobile phones. We believe that as consumer electronics develop towards miniaturization and intelligence, GaN will have more application scenarios.
International market share of GaN power devices in 2018
Data source: Public information compilation
In 2018, the domestic market size of GaN power electronic devices was approximately 120 million yuan, and it is still in the early stages of application product development, but the market space is expected to continue to expand in the future. Under optimistic market expectations, the GaN power electronic market size is expected to reach 424 million US dollars in 2023.
2. Other requirements
The entry of GaN and SiC devices into the photovoltaic market will bring greater competitive advantages to small systems, mainly including: lower average power costs and increased profits from electricity sold through leasing and power purchase agreements. In addition, these devices can also improve performance and reliability. According to survey data, driven by downstream demand for solar modules, wide bandgap semiconductors, namely silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), will lead the solar inverter isolator market to $1.4 billion in 2020.
In the military market, the demand for GaN RF devices is growing rapidly. According to survey data, the demand for GaN RF power modules for fighter radars alone will reach 75 million. Currently, the US Navy's new generation of jammer pods and air and missile defense radars (AMDR) have adopted GaN RF power amplifier devices to replace GaAs devices. It is predicted that by the end of 2020, the market size of GaN RF devices will reach US$750 million, with an average annual compound growth rate of 20%.
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